"It seems the market is taking a breather and waiting for its next catalyst after the strong run we've had," said David Levy, a portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management in Austin, Texas. "A period of consolidation or even a slight pullback wouldn't be surprising given the overbought market conditions."

On Tuesday, the Dow briefly rose above 13,000 -- a level not seen since mid-May 2008 -- before falling back. So far this year, the Dow is up 6%, the S&P 500 is up over 8% and the Nasdaq is up 13%.

Stocks were pressured early Wednesday by news that an index of business activity in the eurozone contracted in January. That came after a reading on China manufacturing showed a slow pace of growth.

Meanwhile, investors remain skeptical about the latest bailout for Greece, which eurozone finance ministers approved Tuesday after weeks of negotiations and market speculation.

"The new bailout and restructuring deal is a welcome short-term reprieve," said John Praveen, chief investment strategist of Prudential International Investments Advisers. "However, it is unclear how successful it will be over the longer term in addressing the debt problem."

Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece by two notches Wednesday morning, pushing the country's rating further into junk territory. The downgrade suggests that a "default is highly likely in the near term."

China's preliminary HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, a measure of manufacturing activity in the world's second-largest economy, rose to a 4-month high of 49.7 in February. While the index improved, it is still below 50, meaning that manufacturing activity continues to contract in China.

HP's results came on the heels of disappointing results from rival computer maker Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) late Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) posted a $2.79 million loss Wednesday, compared to a $3.42 million profit last year. The company's revenues declined and missed expectations.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) was also in focus, as the tech giant faced Chinese company Proview International in a Shanghai courtroom on allegations that it does not own rights to the iPad trademark in China.

Netflix's (NFLX) stock continued to lose ground after Comcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500) said that it is working on a new subscription video-on-demand competitor, named "Streampix." But the streaming service will only be available to those who also subscribe to Comcast cable.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) edged higher after the company announced late Tuesday that CEO Bill Weldon will step down in April.

Chinese Internet giant Alibaba, which has been in the headlines lately for its tussles with stakeholder Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500), wants to take its publicly traded Web portal private.